Another Glass Fire Opal Design

I am still enjoying my newest fascination with glass fire opals.  For my newest creation I used a topaz glass opal with a rich warm mix of gold, amber and topaz colors.  I created a setting for this stone using a simple round mounting which I layered with a more ornate round setting - both in antiqued brass.  Czech glass beads in clear fire polish and "vintage bronze" add to the vintage style charm of this piece.  A medium weight 5mm rollo textured chain gives this piece a substantial feel.  Measures 18 inches long.  Finished with an ornate antiqued brass pewter hook and eye clasp.

I found this stone and several of the metal components at VintageJewelrySupplies.com.  Remaining components are from firemountaingems.com.

This necklace is available in my Etsy shop DJAjewels.etsy.com.

Glass Fire Opal Jewelry

Glass fire opals are some of the most beautiful man-made stones I know of.  Also known as Harlequin glass art, they are known for their fiery  play of colors.  Glass fire opals come in various colors.  Please remember these pieces of glass art are not really opals.

The most well-known are the Mexican fire opals - also known as Dragon's Breath.  These beautiful glass stones have mixtures of red, orange, and yellow colors.  When light passes through these transparent glass stones, streaks of blues and purples are seen.  This characteristic is achieved when the glass artisan adds various metals to the molten glass as it is being made.  In fact, the name "Dragon's Breath" originated because of the blue and purple "breath" inside the reddish orange glass - giving the illusion of a dragon's breath.  The first picture below is a Mexican glass fire opal set into an antiqued silver setting.

Glass fire opals are also made in other colors such as topaz, amethyst, blue and green.  The second and third pictures are some examples.  This topaz fire opal has a rich warm mix of gold, amber and topaz colors.  The amethyst piece is an electric mix of pinks, purples and golds.

All three of these necklaces were designed by me and are available for sell in my Etsy shop:  DJAjewels.etsy.com.